left brain: Curse of the Golden Flower

Which Restaurants I Love

NYC
* Per Se * Pastis * Schillers Liquor Bar * Casa Mono * Babbo * Del Posto * WD50 * Tabla * Morimoto * Buddhakan * Gotham Grill * Vynl * The Spotted Pig * Bouchon Bakery * Tia Pol * Artisinal * Cubano Cafe * db Bistro Modern * Saul * Quality Meats * Jewel Bako * Bar Americaine * Isabella's * Bamboo 52 * Bouley Bakery * Public * Bouley * Boquiera * Blue Ribbon Sushi *

What I've Watched

At the Cinema:
Constant Gardener * Junebug * Green Street Hooligans * Capote * Hellbent * Jarhead * Harry Potter and the Goblet * The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe * Brokeback Mountain * Munich * Syriana * The New World * Spirit of the Beehive * Failure to Launch * Tsotsi * V for Vendetta * Thank You For Smoking * United 93 * The DaVinci Code * XMen III * Russian Dolls * Favela Rising * Nacho Libre * Superman * Devil Wears Prada ** Time to Leave * Little Miss Sunshine * Miami Vice * Quinceanera * Half Nelson * Another Gay Movie * Poster Boy * Le Petit Lieutenant * Man Push Cart * Science of Sleep * A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints * The Queen * Paprika * The Departed * Shortbus * Marie Antoinette * Pan Labyrinth * Babel * The Prestige * Death of a President * Borat * Fast Food Nation * Candy * Volver * Casino Royale * Deja Vu * Stranger than Fiction * Days of Glory * Apocalypto * Curse of the Golden Flower * Children of Men * Miss Potter * Tears of the Black Tiger * Notes on a Scandal * Reno 911 * Zodiac * Last King of Scotland * 300
From Netflix:
Oldboy * Alias * ChungKing Express * Requiem for a Dream * OC Season 2 * Coach Carter * Crash * Sex and Lucia * Lemony Snicket * It's All Gone Pete Tong * Love Actually * Fever Pitch * Interview with a Vampire * The Real Cancun *Lords of Dogtown * Fantastic Four * Criminal * Willy Wonka * Fridaa * Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance * About a Boy * Rebel without a Cause * The Edukators * 3 Dancing Slaves * Dot the I * Royal Tennenbaums * 2046 * March of the Penguins * Into the Blue * Oliver Twist * Beautiful Thing * Memoirs for a Geisha * The War Within * Spun * Young Gods * A Lot Like Love * Inked * Family Stone * Kontroll * Delicatessen * Footballer's Wives * Transamerica * Jesus is Magic * Firewall * King Kong * Hostel * Layer Cake * She's the Man * 5 x 2 * Lost, Season 1, 2 * Brick * Little Manhattan * The Comeback * Veronica Mars * Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World * Before the Fall * Summer Camp * Entourage, Season 1 * Everything is Illuminated * Madame Sata * Weeds * Sympathy for Mrs. Vengeance * Art School Confidential * City of Men, Season 1, 2 * L'Enfant * Stick It * Dorian Blues * Goal * Manhattan * Lower City * Strangers with Candy * Guys and Balls * Tristan & Isolde * Irreversible * CRAZY * I Stand Alone * Three Extremes * Red Dragon * Hard Candy * Running with Scissors * Boixe Maoi * Napolean Dynamite * The Covenant * FlyBoys * Ma Mere * Naked * Sin City * Hukkle *

Curse of the Golden Flower was atrocious. Horribly bad, sadly. I was pumped to see this movie, so much so that I went on opening night in NYC. Halim (my film major friend) and I were rude. Rude enough that we were laughing after the midpoint of the movie when we clearly knew it was hurtling towards earth at a blazing speed with no idea what it was doing at all and ready to bomb beyond belief. I am also rarely stoned in theaters. I wish I was stoned in order to watch this movie because the popcorn, soda, and the oh so delicious hot dog (which I have never until this moment had in a movie theater) was not enough to keep me entertained.

Zhang Yimou's movies are usually visually and emotionally breathtaking. This was breathtaking but in the sort where you feel like you just witnessed a death. He has a tendency to move large masses of people around in some ballerina-like way, which is usually beautiful but this time fell dramatically short. Or at least it didn’t hold your attention. The special effects, unlike that of House of Flying Daggers (which I own by the way) and Hero, seemed tired and repetitive. Halfway through the movie, near the point when you just can’t stand the announcing of the hour of the day any longer, there is a scene where totally fresh, jacked, vicious Ninja’s attack a house. It was by far the best part of the movie.

I believe the director was influenced by Hollywood a little too much. Though Hollywood movies usually give you an ending gratifying enough to have spent two hours watching the film.

Interested in seeing another highly rated foreign film? See Volver, Apocalypto, or Days of Glory. Days of Glory is the French Algerian movie about WWII and the Algerian and French settled African states fighting in the name of the Republic. It is depressing, dreary, and spectacular. It follows a group of soldiers who move up from Africa through Italy to France where it ends in a wintery battle scene. Cunard won a Best Actor award in the Cannes film festival. It has a serious and very strong political argument.

March 2008